Airship.



D. S. THOMAS.

AIBSHIP.

APPLICATION FILED umzs, 191s.

Patented June 17, 1913.

4 SKEETHHEET 1.

jam? 5 7200/03 D, S. THOMAS.

' AIBSHIP.

Arrmou'lon rum) 11511.23. 191a.

Patented June 17, 1913.

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D. S. THOMAS. AIESHIP.

APPLICATION FILED K23, 1913.

1,064,872, Patented June 17, 1913.

4 SHEETS-RESET 3.

D.- S. THOMAS.

AIRSHIP.

APPLICATION FILED JAIL; 1913.

4 SHEETB--EHEET 4 Patented June 17, 1913.

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:KIRSHIE'.

] ;.L872 Specification Letters Patent. 7

Potential J nne 31;", 15.? to.

To all who/iv Z1 may 01. lie it lcnown tn."

citizen ol the lini State 'dn North Platte. in the c unty oi State of Xebradta, have inv new and useful lniprovenunns in .ki ot' which the following is a specification.

My present invention relates toihprovo ments in airships of the type hno. n as propelled wing flying machines.

The object of the invention the improvement of certain parts of flying maable the operator to secure it flying start- "1 when ascending into the air for aerial navigation.

i In the accompanying drawings I have illustrated one complete embodiment of the physical structlu'e constituting my invention constructed according to the. bestmode I have so far devised for the prnctical application of the principles.

Figure l is a. plan view of the (lying machine complete. Fig. 2 is a. side elevation of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is. a. front view of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a .s'ectional view oilhe machine, parts being omitted for convenience. of illustration. Fig. 5 is a view of the adjusting apparatus employed in connection with the actihn of ascending for aerial navigation.

Fig. (3 is a detail of construction of one ofthe frame ribs, and. connections.

In the preferred embodiment of the inven' tion as illustrated I provide a frame supported upon the two traction wheels 1 and 2 and the steering wheel 3. The frame 1 is of the outline shown, and is preferably covered with a canvas covering 4 having side windows 7 and front window 8. The canvas covered frame is essentiallv a car. inasmuch as it is supported upon the. traction wheels and. the steering wheels, and is adapted to travel oven surfaces similar to other automobile vehicles.

A motor 9 is mounted adjacent the driviliif .v

re jonrnaled, and he ear 3 e driven through the mennma oi n wuulerslni'l't it. bevel gears 12 and li and. a smoud pair of eiinilar gears lei and l5, ne will be understood. Thebevel gems it? and l-l are inoported on the verlicul stud shall. it; which journaled in the. bracket. 17. The rotation, of the wheels 1 and Q nut be controlled by the clutch. 18 which is lotnted on the counters-heft 11 and adapted to cc-act with the gear 1.2, and is supported from the bracket 19 which also supports the countcrshuft. ll.

The steering wheel is provided with a post 20 which in ineaised in a bracket 21 integral with the frame of the car. In Fig. 5 it will be clearly Feel) that the bracket formed with an integral spool about which :1 sleeve 2;) may rotate. This spool has pivoted thereto the lowcr end of it link 24-. which at its upper end is pivoted as at 25 to the lever arm. 26.. The lever 2t is pivoted in a shield formed at the upper end oi the post 20, and a riick l racl i an; which the two.

is provided for use in connection Wlilll the usual ratchet device 29.

From the above description it will be underrstood that as the car travels over-u surface it may lwsteered laterally by means of the lever ill? and post 20, and also'that by means of the lever .26 and connections the forward end ol' the. car may be raised or lowered .villr rclation to the post 20. with the shaft to as a pivotal center. i

The car may bedrawn forward by the an lllll ol 'lhe front propeller $50 on the shalt ll. or. when the clutch 15 is in operative position, the car may be driven by the true lion Wheels 1 and through the mechanism described.

A seat 231 properly supported from the provided with an eye which is loosely 38 in the bar 39 of thecar frame. A horizontal brace or bar 40 is extended across each wing, and between these bars a memher that I term a fly sheet 41, is arched upwardly, and connected to the top'of the wings. The wings and fly sheet areactuated as shown in dotted lines Fig. 3, by means of connecting rods 42, 42. A pair of theserod's is located at each side of the machine, and each pair is connected to-a head 43 whichis in turn pivoted on the crank bar 44 of wheel 1 and wheel 2. At their u pe'r ends therods 42 are connected by eye olts 44 .with the wings, andit willbe understood that the joints at-both ends of the connecting rods-are loose and permit a free movement of the rods.

A steering rudder 45 is located at the rear of the machine. This rudder consists of a flexible clothattached to the side bars 46,

46, which are pivoted in the frame at 47, and vertically movableindependent of each other. Friction devices 48 are provided in order to prevent displacement ofwthc rods or bars when once adjusted. I

The action of the rear rudder will-be apparent. When the machine is navigating the air, by holding the two bars parallel, the rudder? is'capable of steering the machine to ascend or descend. With the-bars parallel the rudder presents a flat surface for contact with the atmosphere, but with one bar raised and the other lowered, as in Figs. 2 and 4,-it will be seen that the machine may be caused to descend laterally, or ascend laterally. In the latter position the rudder is inclined to either one side or the other, and presents an oblique or inclined surface for contact with the atmosphere.

In operating the machine, the motor is started and the car is driven over the surface by the traction wheels 1 and-2 and. is steered by wheel T hrongh ction of the connectingrods, the wings arid 'tiy' sheet are actuated, and the car is lifted from the supporting surface. Now with the front propeller rotating the car is propelled for ward through the atmosphere. To assist in ascending, the front portion of the car may be lifted as explained, with the rear axle as a pivot, and while running over the ground,

an impetus'is-given tothe car to rise. The car is sustained by the wings and air sheet, and maybe caused to ascend or descend, while in the air, hy-the action of the rear rudder, orymay be caused to ascend or descend in an oblique direction by'means of .the rear rudder as'dc'scribed.

Haring thus fully described my invention, what I claim 1SI 1. The combination with a car having a rear axleand driving wheels, a hollow l'n'acket, a steering post. supported inth'e.

bracket and a wheel in said post, a sleeve retained on the bracket and a link pivoted on the sleeve, and a lever pivoted to the link and post, whereby the forward part of the czir may be moved relatively to thesteer wheel with the rear axle as the-center of motion.

Q. The combination -with a car having a driring shaft and driving wheels with crank heads thereon, ot' a pair of "lexible wings loosely connected to the car and projecting upwardly and outwardly therefrom, a front propeller wheel and a rear rudder, rods connecting the wings -and crank heads, and means for actuating the shaft and propeller.

3. The combination with a car having a driving shaft and wheels, of a pair of ticxihlc wings having their inner lower ends loosely connected to the car and projecting upwardly and outwardly from the car, cohnecting rods extending from each wheel to a wing, and a flexible tly sheet located centrally of the car and extending in a curve from one wing to the other.

4. The combination with a car having a driving shaft, propeller, rudder, and driving wheels, wings loosely connected to. the car, connecting rods from the drive wheels to said wings, means for actuating the shaft 

